memory_alphafandomcom-20200223-history
Nova class
The Nova-class is a type of Federation starship designed for short-term planetary research missions. It has been in service since the mid-to-late 24th century. History The Nova-class is one of Starfleet's most advanced scientific vessels, emerging as a replacement for it's predecessor, the ''Oberth''-class, during the late 2360s. Designed as a science and scout vessel, the Nova-class is used for short-term planetary research and analysis after a region has been surveyed by larger explorer-type vessels. It was not designed for long-range tactical missions. Technical Data The Nova design has a maximum speed of warp 8 and, compared to other Starfleet vessels, minimal weaponry; limited to defensive phasers and torpedo launchers. This class has a small crew complement and has no holodecks. One unique feature of the Nova-class is it's Waverider shuttle which is located in a special docking port on the ventral side of the primary hull, similar to that of the Aeroshuttle on the ''Intrepid''-class. Physical Arrangement The Nova-class has a design similar to that of an Intrepid-class starship, though half the size. It consists of a saucer section with a curved triangular shape. The secondary hull is directly attached to the underside of the saucer with two warp nacelles. Unlike some starship designs, the Nova-class only features one impulse drive, located at the aft end of deck 2 aligned center to the ship. Tactical Systems Though Nova-classes are science vessels, they have a wide assortment of weaponry allowing the vessel to handle threats on it's own. It is equipped with 11 strategically placed phaser arrays; 8 on the saucer, 3 on the secondary hull, and 2 forward facing photon torpedo launchers at the bow of the saucer opposite of the secondary deflector, and 1 aft facing launcher. :The third, aft-facing torpedo launcher, is not displayed on the MSD. Navigational Deflector In order to prevent space debris and objects from colliding and damaging the Nova-class vessels, like other Starfleet vessel, were equipped with a navigational deflector at the bow of the secondary hull. If the main deflector was to be damaged or disabled, a secondary deflector on the saucer can substitute the main deflector. Like most Starfleet vessels, the Nova-class is also equipped with a deflector shield for defensive purposes. Shields on a Nova-class can be fully recharged after charging the shield emitters for 45 seconds. The shield grid itself is located along the secondary hull. Landing and Planetary Flight As a science vessel, Nova-classes have the ability to land on planetary surfaces with four landing struts in the secondary hull. To further accommodate ease of research, Nova classes are designed to enter planetary atmospheres for long periods of time. Interior Design Though a small ship, the Nova-class is able to accommodate the needs of the crew. This class has 8 decks. *'Deck 1': Main Bridge, Captain's ready room *'Deck 2': Impulse drive reactors, mess hall, crew quarters *'Deck 3': Cargo bays, deuterium tanks, transporter room, crew quarters *'Deck 4': Main shuttlebay, Sickbay, escape pods, main computer core access, Waverider, auxiliary deflector, crew and officer quarters *'Deck 5': Docking ports, warp core access *'Deck 6': Main Deflector *'Deck 7': Tractor emitters, main engineering *'Deck 8': Antimatter storage, landing struts Main Bridge .]] The Main Bridge, located near the center of deck 1, is the command center for the ship. Despite the size of the ship, the spacious Bridge allows for the ease of movement between stations. The central command area on the bridge was at the very center of the circular area in a submerged location. The captain's chair was starboard side, and the executive officer's was on the portside. Between them was a console built into the structure that provided a place for information dissemination, as well as operational command of the starship. Directly ahead of the command area and down into a further sunken area, was the Conn. The rest of the stations are located on the perimeter of the round Bridge, including the master systems display behind the command seats and the main viewscreen in the standard frontwards position. Stations, such as Tactical, are not stand-out stations due to the scientific nature of the design. When necessary, Tactical would usually be assigned to the forward, portside console just right of the main viewscreen. Entryways to the Bridge are located at the port and starboard sides on the upper level. The port door leads to the main turbolift while the starboard door leads to a corridor that accesses other sections of deck 1. Access to the captain's ready room is also located on port side. :The ''Nova-class bridge was a redress of what had appeared as the ''Prometheus''-class bridge, from the episode VOY: "Message in a Bottle", which was previously a redress of the recreated ''Excelsior'' bridge from VOY: "Flashback". The construction of all three bridges was overseen by ''Voyager'' production designer Richard James.'' Main Engineering Main Engineering is located on deck 7. The Nova-class engineering section only spans one deck, features four wall based engineering consoles and a warp core analysis console infront of the core itself. At the far end of the room is the warp core with a transparent floor and support railing around it. The core spans from decks 5-8 and can be ejected from the bottom of the ship through an ejection hatch. The core can be accessed from either Main Engineering or from the maintenance areas around the core. Sickbay and Science Labs The Nova-class has one Sickbay located on deck 4, infront of the shuttlebay. The Nova-class medical facility was equipped with an Emergency Medical Hologram system, like the one on USS Voyager. Additionally, as a science vessel, the Nova-class is equipped with a number of specially equipped science and research labs. The labs are similar to those found on an Intrepid-class vessel and serve many purposes and support numerous personel. They feature a great number of work consoles to perform numerous tasks and have one main work console area in an alcove. Auxilary Craft and Cargo bays Behind the main Sickbay were two shuttlebays, which could contain a shuttle each. In the saucer on deck 4, a short trip from the shuttlebays, is the aforementioned Waverider auxilary craft, which is integrated into the Nova-class' hull. Spanning decks 2 and 3 infront of the shuttle bay are the main cargo bays which also contain Workbees, used for transportation and repair purposes. Additonally, like a majority of starships in the 24th century, Nova-classes are equipped with emergency escape pods, 20 in total; 14 located on deck 3, four on deck 1 and two on deck 2, all located in the saucer section. They are stored under hatches to permit both launch and retrieval. Crew Quarters Due to the size of this class, crew quarters are not luxurious but provide all the standard needs for the crew. A majority of the quarters are standard crew quarters, though a number of them are larger for use by the senior staff. The majority of these larger quarters are located on decks 1 and 4, with slightly smaller ones located on decks 2 and 6. Future timelines variant of the Nova-class]] In an early 25th century alternate timeline, a variant of the Nova-class was in use. The interior of the ship was almost the same, however, the exterior had a number of changes. The variant also had superior tactical firepower and shield strength to that of it's predecessor. (VOY: "Endgame")'' .]] In another alternate timeline, this class of vessel was still in use during the 26th century by the Federation and was involved in the pivotal Battle of Procyon V. (ENT: "Azati Prime")'' Ships Commissioned * [[USS Equinox|USS Equinox]] (NCC-72381) * [[USS Nova|USS Nova]] (NCC-73515, prototype) * [[USS Rhode Island|USS Rhode Island]] (NCC-72701) Appendices Appearances * VOY: ** "Equinox, Part I" ** "Equinox, Part II" ** "Endgame" * ENT: "Azati Prime" References * Star Trek: Starship Spotter. Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz & Robert Bonchune. New York: Pocket Books, 2001. ISBN 0-7434-3725-X Background Model The Nova class starship was created by Rick Sternbach for "Equinox, Part I". It largely resembles the Defiant pathfinder design, whose top view is depicted in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual. Sternbach used this design as a basis for his ship design, which has similarities to the known Nova-class. The pathfinder design featured two forward-facing torpedo tubes where the auxilary deflector was (The torpedo tubes were then moved beside the deflector in Sternback's Nova). More windows were added to the pathfinder design, along with a new exterior Bridge design. Although Star Trek: Starship Spotter lists the Nova as having only two torpedo launchers, the design probably has at least three because we saw the Equinox fire an aft torpedo in "Equinox, Part II". The Nova-class variant that appeared in "Endgame" featured many changes, performance or visual-wise. Additions include a dome added to Bridge, impulse engines combined to one reactor on deck 1 and its auxilary deflector reduced greatly, triangular shaped. The gap infront of it is filled in. Portions of the bussard collectors were covered by hull plating and the dorsal intercoolers were reduced to one on each warp nacelle from two. Finally, the ship's escape pods were replaced with Sovereign class pods. This Nova-class is not related to the ''Galaxy''-class successor design studies in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual. The designation "Nova" had been tentatively assigned to the planned successor of the massive Galaxy-class explorers. Instead, the Nova seems designed to replace the Oberth-class. Registry numbers The USS Nova, listed on a computer display in Star Trek: Nemesis, had a higher registry number than the USS Equinox. Allowing for the still somewhat unpredictable registry numbers (see the ships from Star Trek: First Contact), this was not necessarily a different ship. The USS Rhode Island is a future Nova-class variant, seen in the alternate 2404 in "Endgame". The registry is in the realm of the "real" timeline and compliments the registry of the Equinox but whether it is currently in the USS Equinox form or upgraded is unknown. Category:Federation starship classes de:Nova-Klasse